Since articles of furniture tend to be bulky and costly to ship in the assembled condition, it is common to design and fabricate such items in knock down form. That is, the furniture is designed so that it is made up of sub-components, which when packed together, fit into a relatively compact shipping container. The consumer assembles the furniture at the point of use. And, preferably, the furniture might be knocked down again for storage.
Numerous different designs and assembly concepts are known in the prior art. However, differences in execution of the design and manufacture can make a substantial difference to the consumer. Among the criteria that characterize a good piece of furniture are the following. The article must be have a desired and pleasing esthetic appearance when assembled. The article must function for the desired purpose; typically, it must be strong and durable. The parts should fit together easily, and assembly should involve a minimum of tools and skill. Manufacturing should not demand extreme precision and cost should be low. The unassembled subcomponents should be sturdy and not prone to damage during rough shipment and handling. The carton into which the knock down table components are placed for shipment should be as compact as possible. It is not easy to meet all the foregoing criteria. Certain pieces of furniture have specialized requirements. For example, in tables used for computers, it is desirable to have a flat work surface, to hold the computer system components, particularly the monitor, and, to have at least one under-desk drawer, for holding a keyboard. That drawer ought to be closeable, to conceal the keyboard when it is not in use. It is also desirable to provide at least one shelf under the table for holding computer system components or related accessories, such as a printer. Sometimes the aforementioned parts of the computer system are heavy, and thus the table needs to be strong when assembled. Similarly, a book case has to be capable of bearing substantial weight, as does a rolling cart suited for a computer printer, a television or a microwave oven. Thus, while there has been a great variety of knockdown furniture in commerce, it has always been difficult to combine ease of assembly with strength and low cost.